


Everybody wants a piece of Ryan Bergara

by y00ti



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Demon!Shane, Demonic Possession, M/M, Ryan has no clue, Very Bad Seducing, demon!Shane vs actual Shane
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-02-08 13:35:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12865617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/y00ti/pseuds/y00ti
Summary: There is something weird going on with Shane, Ryan realizes, but -- there was always something weird going on with Shane, wasn't there?...Wasn't there?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> so this is the demon vs human fic i've been taking ages to start. place your bets. choose your team. fun's about to start.

It’s Friday evening, Ryan and a few other people from the office are out for drinks. An hour in, Jen comes up to him while he’s ordering another round, and leans in with what seems to be a neutral expression.

 

“So, do you know what’s up with Shane?” she asks and Ryan takes a while to figure out what context this is in. He assumes it’s just her being curious about Shane not being out with them, as he usually was.

 

“He said he got some family stuff to take care of. But he’ll come out with us tomorrow.”

 

It’s a wrong guess. Jen shakes her head all the while and almost cuts him off at the end.

 

“No, I mean – there’s something _off_ about him lately. I thought you might now. The – the lateness, the break-up, the way he just _looks_ sometimes, I --”

 

“Wait, the _what_ now? What break-up?”, Ryan blinks, looking away from the bar counter and at the girl next to him. His mind goes completely blank and Jen’s eyes widen in disbelief. That, for some reason, makes his stomach twist unpleasantly. Was he – was he _supposed_ to know something?

 

“The – oh my _god,_ Ryan. Shane and Sara broke up?” The silence was long and terrible. “Three days ago?” Jen adds and the man’s throat goes dry, and he tries to swallow and play it off cool. He doesn’t want her to notice how much of a punch in the gut this actually is, because, what the _actual_ fuck?

 

“Oh, I – well, yeah, he never mentioned it which is... a bit weird, I guess. I dunno.” Ryan is aware that his voice is way too nonchalant but he’s never been the greatest liar. Glad for the drinks to arrive so he could busy himself with paying and avert his eyes from Jen’s searching stare, Ryan turns away, heart thumping faintly in his chest. “Do you know what – did Sara tell you?”

 

“Yeah, she did. He just did it out of the blue, man. It’s not like Shane at all. I’m worried.”

 

“I – seriously, Jen, I wish I knew.” And he really _does_ wish that. “I’ll ask him as soon as I get the chance.”

 

They get back to the table, somehow managing to bring all the drinks back in one go, and after a few minutes of forcing himself to participate in the giddy conversation, Ryan can’t help himself from spacing out. There’s this uneasy feeling of anxiety bubbling up inside of him, not allowing to get pleasantly tipsy, and he fishes out the phone from his jacket, sends a text out.

 

_Ryan [21:27] – just heard you and Sara broke up??? thanks for letting me know, man--_

 

After a short while of hesitation, he deletes the second part, reminding himself that this isn’t exactly the point here. As in, yeah, sure, it is a bit weird he never told Ryan but it is weirder that the break-up happened at all. They seemed fine. _Normal._ Nothing out of the ordinary. Sara was posting cute videos of Shane on her instagram stories, they hung out, went on dates, as usual.

 

_Ryan [21:27] – just heard you and Sara broke up??? you okay, man?_

 

The reply comes so quick, Ryan genuinely expects the text to be from someone else. Shane usually takes a while to reply, as he always has his phone on silent and leaves it in the weirdest places.

 

_Shane [21:28] – yeah, that happened. I’m good. Sorry I didn’t tell you, didn’t really want to talk about it I guess. You guys still out in the bar?_

 

The ‘sorry’ is a tad unexpected and makes Ryan double check it for hidden sarcasm. There’s none, as far as he’s concerned. He shots back a quick confirmation and, again, the reply comes in surprisingly fast. Immediately, actually.

 

_Shane [21:29] – alright. I’m on my way. Get me a double whiskey._

 

And Ryan does, because they always do that. This way the one that comes in later has a drink already waiting for him, and it’s just this small thing that became a tradition out of nowhere. Ryan is thinking now, remembering the past two days and trying to recall anything that might’ve been a sign for him that Shane is going through something. Either way he’s a very bad friend, which he knows is not true, because Ryan always pays a lot of attention whether he likes it or not, or – yeah, or Shane was just acting perfectly fucking normal.

 

And it bothers him because, out of all people, wouldn’t he see through the Madej mask of fake nonchalance? He’s done it before, many times. So why not now? The only explanation is absolutely ridiculous and Ryan actually huffs out a laugh at the thought. Yeah, Shane isn’t an extremely _touchy-feely_ kinda guy but it’s just not possible that he is _actually_ just _fine_ and content about the break-up. He isn’t _heartless._

 

_*_

 

Shane walks into the bar less than half an hour later and smirks at the whiskey-filled glass standing next to Ryan’s drink on the table. People cheer at the sight of him, except from Jen, who just gives him an odd look and gets back to chatting with Kelsey. Ryan moves his chair a little, making room for the man, and Shane grabs a free chair from another table. His long leg bumps against Ryan’s as he sits down and it just stays like this, barely touching, but definitely _there_.

 

“Thanks, you’re a _star,”_ he says to Ryan before he speaks to anyone else, and reaches out for the glass. Ryan just smiles – he is curious, of course he is, but there’s time and place for everything.

 

Clearly, not everyone shares that opinion.

 

“Shane, we heard what happened,” Zach blurts out and, yep, he’s definitely more than tipsy. The atmosphere turns from light and fun to thick with awkwardness very quick. Ryan silently prays for the small guy to shut the hell up, _oh my god._ He doesn’t. “So sorry. You guys were great together.”

 

Ryan winces a little, and everyone else looks away awkwardly. This is definitely _not_ what you should say in a situation like that, after you make a mistake of bringing it up in the first place. There’s a short moment of dead silence, when clearly nobody knows nor wants to say anything, and then Ryan steals a glance at his friend and – sees not what he was expecting to see. Which kind of stuns him.

 

Shane is smiling.

 

“Not so great,” he says with a small shrug and... it’s so _cold_ but also so simple that, somehow, it’s enough to snap everyone out of the awkwardness.

 

“Oh, right,” Zach says, a little dumbfounded, but he drops the subject.

 

Before Ryan can even say anything, Shane scoots even closer to him, their legs pressed flush against each other now, and leans down. Ryan can feel his hot breath on the shell of his ear when he speaks in a hushed voice and he tries not to shudder at the tickly sensation.

 

“It kinda sucks you found out this way. I wanted to tell you soon, I promise.”

 

“It’s alright,” he says, trying to somehow put a little more space in between their faces. “I mean, it’s totally your call when you wanna share something like that, man. It’s a big thing, and not a happy one. I get it.”

 

Shane is still leaning down, his elbow on the table and chin resting on top of his fist, and he looks a little lost in thought when he looks Ryan in the eye. It’s quite bizzare, for some reason, and the shorter man takes a drink slowly. He doesn’t know what else to say, and Shane isn’t saying anything.

 

“Yeah, I’m just... sorta... trying to distract myself, I guess,” he finally says, _really_ dragging out the words, and Ryan feels the warm sting of alcohol running down his throat.

 

“That’s – good, I guess. I mean, whatever works for you.” Ryan forces out a smile and reaches out with his free hand to pat Shane on the shoulder. It’s a little awkward but a sincere gesture, and the corners of Shane’s lips twitch with a smile.

 

“Right,” he says and then he’s backing away, and the whole _weird_ aura around the whole situation seems like something Ryan just imagined. “Drink up, I’m getting the next round.”

 

And, even though both of them just started on their drinks, Ryan doesn’t think twice when he pours the rest of the whiskey straight down his throat.

 

*

 

Ryan is drunk. Not _dead drunk,_ he’s not really slurring his words yet and is definitely steady on his feet but, _jesus fuck,_ is he feeling the pleasant buzz. A _very pleasant_ indeed. It has gotten very late and like half of their workmates left but the pub is actually getting fuller for a reason quite simple – after twelve it kind of turns into a club. The DJ is already up on his stand and just about to start.

 

“Are you gonna show us your moves, Ryan?” Shane is asking, and he _has_ to lean down now, because it has gotten very loud around them, and his mouth is basically _pressed_ against Ryan’s ear. But he’s beyond the point of caring about that.

 

“Nah, I’m good,” he says, turning his head a little too quick. Their noses bump together and Ryan can’t stop himself from laughing out loud. “ _Jesus,_ man, you’re way up my personal bubble here.”

 

Shane smiles at him; Ryan can see from the smile that he’s nowhere near sober as well, but there is something weirdly _sharp_ in the way he looks. “Nah, nowhere near it, my man.”

 

It’s a little out of the ordinary, but Ryan just laughs it off. His guards are down, as usual when he has a few drinks, and the amount of fun he’s having cancels out the usual overthinking he does. The ghost of the whole break-up situation is still there, in the back of his mind, but he doesn’t want to bring it up now either, not when they’re actually having such a good time.

 

“We’re gonna head to that big place down the road, you guys coming with?”, Kelsey asks as her, Eugene and a very drunk Zach start gathering their things.

 

Ryan is not really up for it, feeling pretty content just being _here._ As his and Shane’s eyes cross again, he lets out a small, relieved sigh, already knowing they’re on the same page.

 

“Nah, we’re good here. Take care guys,” he says and, as they leave, turns to Shane. “Are we calling it a night or...?”

 

He doesn’t really want to but at the same time there’s _something_ there, something in the air, that makes his instincts kick in. And they are barely ever wrong, and they are telling him to be _wary,_ to put his drink down. It’s funny, because this part of him was silent, completely content, and then, as soon as the rest of their company walked out --

 

“I’m gonna go and get another round, yeah?,” Shane says, and Ryan thinks _again_ that he should say _no._ But he decides it’s stupid, and this is a Friday night, and he’s out here with his friend, and anyway, Shane probably wants to drink his feelings away, and wouldn’t it be terrible if Ryan spoiled it for him. So he nods, and so Shane goes off.

 

Ryan is left to his own thoughts for the moment, swaying slightly to the beat of the song that’s playing now, half-heartedly watching people dancing. Suddenly, he remembers Jen and how concerned she was about Shane. He can’t really blame her. There _is_ definitely something very weird in the way Shane is dealing with things but, to be fair, Shan _is_ a very weird guy. And always was. Ryan can’t really say this is unusual for him because this is literally the first time he sees Shane going through a break-up. Maybe that’s exactly how he does it. Detached and emotionless.

 

This thought makes Ryan a little bit sad, for some reason. The sentiment is clearly visible on his face, as Shane quirks an eyebrow as soon as he’s back with another round of drinks. “You thinking about sad ghost stories, man?”

 

“Nah,” Ryan shakes his head and takes the glass from the other’s hand. Their fingers brush and linger together for a moment. “I’m, uh – You’re having fun, right?”

 

Shane smiles and shakes his head slightly, as if saying ‘ _this guy’_. “With you? Always.”

 

This hits the spot. Ryan feels a blush creeping upon his face, and the words ‘ _cool beans’_ just spill out of his mouth as a defense mechanism from something so _sweet_ said in such a _sincere_ way, and he’s way too drunk for this.

 

The rest of the night goes as it usually does with the two of them, all fun and banter, and after a couple more drinks they get an Uber together. Somehow, in the middle of a small argument about which way they should go to make it the quickest, Ryan just agrees to crash at Shane’s, as it’s literally the middle of the fucking night. It’s not the first time this happens, so he doesn’t think twice about it.

 

He does, though, when he feels a big, warm hand resting on top of his shoulder, fingers digging into the space in the crook of his neck. It’s a nice sensation, obviously, as his back and neck are sore these days, but Ryan flinches a little and shoots Shane a questioning look.

 

“You’re like a walking cramp, man. Kept on rubbing this spot for the whole night. Let me.”

 

 _Oh,_ and, yeah, this is possible, Ryan thinks, and he just shrugs and leans back in the seat. Shane is not saying anything anymore, leans back as well, working on those tense muscles. Ryan can feel the long fingers digging into his flesh, squeezing it just hard enough, just to gently massage the tension out, and it quickly turns from just pleasant to absolutely _fucking amazing._

 

After a minute or two Ryan lets his eyes fall shut, as they’ve been trying to do since the very first second Shane started giving him that random neck rub. “Mmm,” he groans quietly, not exactly aware of the noise he’s making. “Oh, _god.”_

 

If his eyes were open, he’d see the biggest, wildest, happiest grin ever.

 

Shane’s hand is working his way up Ryan’s neck now. Slowly but gradually those fingers reach the hairline, and tangle themself up there, massaging the scalp, and Ryan is forgetting himself a little now, breathing deep and lips parted, whole body automatically leaning towards the other man. The instincs go to sleep. He is hypnotized with this touch, intoxicated with the whiskey and company, and he can feel the surprisingly soft fingertips brushing down the side of his face, resting on his chin, tilting it upwards and to the side gently, when --

 

“Right, lads, we’re here,” the Uber driver says and Ryan’s eyes snap open.

 

What – where were they going, again?

 

“Man, I was _out_ of it. I need to get me a good sleep now,” he laughs breathlessly as they leave the car and head towards Shane’s place.

 

Shane’s smile is a little smaller than before and his eyes seem a bit fogged. Like he’s not quite there. Ryan decides not to push it. He’s way too tired for it now, anyway.

 

*

 

Not more than ten minutes later, when Shane walks back into his living room with a glass of water in his hand, Ryan is curled up on the couch, just one shoe kicked off, deeply asleep. Shane just looks at him for a long, long, silent while and sighs.

 

“Should’ve known the scratching will put him right to sleep,” he mumbles to himself with a small shake of his head. “Ah, I was _so close.”_

 

Kicking own his own shoes, “Shane” sits down on the armchair facing the couch and sips on the water, eyes stuck on the innocent, sleeping figure. What Ryan thought earlier looked like a deep thought fogging up the man’s eyes gets way darker now, finally turning absolutely pitch black. “Shane” lets a small chuckle escape his lips at the thought of what would happen if the poor guy woke up and looked at him _now._

 

 _‘It’s not easy, not at all. The human body gets affected just the way a human body does, even with a host. If I drink, I get fucking drunk._ _It’s not like I didn’t know it._ _That’s what messed it up tonight. Ah, well. He’s still here, after all. It’s a half-win. I guess.’_ The smile disappears and the demon rubs his temples, eyes falling shut. ‘ _This is getting out of hand, though. I was actually decent enough to break up with the girl before trying to fuck someone else. Look at me. Getting all soft. Disgusting. --_

 

_\-- It’s all his fucking fault.’_


	2. Chapter 2

_6 months earlier._

 

“This week on Buzzfeed Unsolved we explore the Bobby Mackey’s Music World, which is seemingly a normal Kentucky bar but many believe it’s actually a portal to hell.”

 

Shane feels the need to roll his eyes or laugh, but he figures it’s too early in the episode to do that, so he just lets a small, telling smile linger on his lips. They’re shooting the first episode of the second season, so there clearly needs to be some fun for everyone, not just the skeptics.

 

“As you know,” Ryan continues, and despite a smile on his face, his voice gets quite a serious vibe “or as many of you who watch this show know, I hate demons and I will only do one per season, so, uh, this is my sacrifice for this season.”

 

Shane steals a glance at the other, laughter bubbling up in his chest. It’s funny, he thinks, that some people most likely are under the impression that Ryan is just playing the lovable coward act for the crowd. But he knows, for sure, that his friend is absolutely serious at this moment.

 

“I didn’t know that was your rule,” he says, just a tad teasingly.

 

“It is my one rule,” Ryan replies, still as serious as before, and Shane, yet again, feels like laughing.

 

There is something just as freeing as there is something frustrating about not being able to understand that fear, though. Sure, he walks into those places just like Ryan does. But a dark corner is just a dark corner, and a shadow is just a shadow. It doesn’t have eyes, it doesn’t give him chills, the wind is not talking and nobody is watching.

 

“Thanks for breaking it,” he simply adds and they cut the scene.

 

*

 

After making a small pre-tour of the bar, while they bickered back and forward as usual, they interview the gatekeeper. If Shane tried not to roll his eyes before, he is _really_ fucking trying now. _Sure,_ lady, all the windows were definitely violently shaking.

 

He doesn’t even have to look at Ryan. Shane knows the guy well enough to figure that there is an expression of absolute seriousness on his face. That’s also when he realises he’s been blank-facing at the poor woman. Next to getting some extra guests and publicity, she’s probably trying to give them good content to work with. In the end, it would be a bummer if someone that works at the place said they never witnessed anything.

 

The place’s history is quite interesting and, don’t get him wrong, Shane absolutely understands why people like Ryan believe in the bar having some creepy things going on in it. It’s just that he _can’t._ What he _can_ do, though, is listen, so he listens intently while Ryan reads out some of the facts, eyes flickering from the pages in his hands to the man’s focused face, and he spaces out again.

 

There is an unfamiliar tension in him for a good while. A month, maybe two. Shane finds himself overthinking the things he wants to say, especially when they are recording. He used to be different, more spontaneous, definitely _louder –_ and, even though he keeps reminding himself to just relax and _go with the flow,_ more often than not Shane just bites his tongue. _Why_ is that? He has no clue, really.

 

Sure, there is this one time when Sara tells him, after watching one of their post-mortem episodes, that he is being very mean to Ryan. She’s not very serious, kind of just laughs it off, but Shane re-watches the episode later with his brows furrowed and thinks about it for the whole evening. And, even when the next day Ryan tells him how great the episode turned out and how happy he is about it, Shane still has this lingering _thing_ in the back of his head.

 

It pisses him off, really. He _wants_ to get back into being that loud, obnoxious self.

 

“This used to be an office back in the day and apparently there was a trap door in here that leads directly into the portal to hell downstairs.” Ryan looks back at him and scrunches his nose, as if waiting for Shane to laugh off the possibility.

 

“Yikes,” Shane just says, because he was too busy spacing out, _again,_ and there is no other thing that comes to his head quick enough.

 

“And, uh, they would drop bodies down that.”

 

“Nowadays they drop something else down there,” he deadpans, looking back at the camera, and it makes Ryan laugh.

 

Yep, a good ol’ poop joke is always a great place to start.

 

They walk downstairs, Shane muttering a soft ‘be careful’ after seeing how steep the stairs are, and it makes Ryan slow down a little. Obviously, they could turn the lights on and _obviously,_ they won’t.

 

“So now we’re gonna go right into – _what the fuck.”_

 

He’s busy looking around the dark room so he almost doesn’t notice when Ryan jumps up. Instinctively, he steps closer.

 

“What?”

 

Ryan is kind of frozen, staring into one spot, unblinking. Shane notices how the usual wide-eyed, panicked stare is replaced by a serious and intense one. He doesn’t think twice about it.

 

“My eyes must be playing tricks with me _._ I sw-- _duh,_ you’re not gonna believe me, I’ll tell you, but that’s why I didn’t tell you --”

 

And Ryan is stumbling over his words, saying something about a passing shadow or whatever, and Shane half-heartedly tries to put some skeptic commentary there, but instead can’t stop thinking how much _better_ the whole scene would be if Ryan just _said_ what he saw, without including the whole bit of excusing himself before even getting there.

 

Shane has no idea _why_ this is such a big deal for him.

 

Neither he nor Ryan see the shadow passing yet again, behind them, slowly but surely.

 

*

 

Shane tries mocking some “ghosts” in one of the rooms and, while doing so, he just _knows_ it’s not nearly as funny as it used to be. Even Ryan’s laugh is just a small giggle, and he doesn’t even try to stop him.

 

Shane notices a disco ball on the ceiling and, with no hesitation, points the flashlight at it. _This_ gets a proper reaction out of the other man and it has to be the first time during the shooting of this episode, while he _feels it,_ kind of gets the _vibe_ back, when they both start laughing.

 

It makes him maybe a little more happy than it should-- but right now Shane is not going to dwell on it.

 

*

 

It goes a little better later on. Shane feels more relaxed and Ryan laughs more often, and everything seems to be getting back to normal. They are climbing up the stairs to the room where some poor bastard got “possessed”.

 

The room is gross, and they both agree on that one. It’s extremely dusty, the ceiling is broken and wood is hanging down from it, things are thrown around the floor. Shane thinks that whoever arranged it like that for the visitors, did a pretty good job in making it seem realistic.

 

“What the _fuck?”,_ Ryan says, pointing a flashlight in the direction of a small stool and Shane turns around to face it.

 

“What.”

 

“You come over here and you open this,” he says, and for the first few seconds Shane has no idea what he’s talking about. But then he notices it. The door behind the stool – and the piece of paper on it. “It says: _danger. Do not enter. Keep out.”_

 

“Then why would we go in there?”, he teases a little, already sure he’s gonna open the freaking door anyway.

 

It’s a little weird for Ryan to suggest it first, but hey, Shane thinks, a bit of a twist is always good. After another moment of bickering, just for the sake of it, Ryan suddenly cuts it off. And, yeah, okay, the door moved a little bit, sure, but that’s what happens with old, dusty doors in old, dusty rooms. They don’t exactly... _stick_ well in places where they’re supposed to.

 

It’s Ryan who makes the first steps towards it and Shane just watches him, slightly amused and just as impressed with the sudden rush of courage his friend is experiencing. There’s a fleeting thought there, for a split second, that it might be because of how the atmosphere changed, how they got back into being like in the good old days --

 

The door is open. Ryan stands in front of it, staring into the darkness of the room. It’s quiet. Nothing happens. _Big fucking surprise here._

 

“They got Peter Frampton tapes in here...” Shane jumps in, walking past his friend, knowing this is going to be a perfect comedy relief moment. He can almost hear the intense, spooky background music stopping right then and there.

 

Ryan huffs out a laugh. It’s still quiet, the camera is rolling behind him, his shoulder is brushing against Ryan’s as he takes a peek into the “ghost room”. There’s tapes, a lot of dusty tapes on the shelves and he looks over them with genuine interest.

 

\--

 

“And Springsteen!”

 

Shane hears Ryan’s laugh and a muttered out ‘ _ha, now you go in’._ Yeah, it’s not like he was scared before. He is just about to say it, to turn around and look at the face he _knows_ is smiling at him and he can almost _see_ Ryan shaking his head, and then --

 

\-- then his feet are glued to the floor and suddenly the silence turns _dead._ The only thing Shane can hear is his own heartbeat, gradually rising, thumping in his ears, until it goes quiet too.

 

For him it seems like ages but in reality it’s just a split second.

 

And then, there’s a voice. Shane has _never_ heard this voice before. It seems to come from within the walls, but it crawls closer and, in the end, he can _swear_ it’s coming from within _him._

 

It says:

 

“ _Got ya.”_

 

_*_

 

Ryan is more than happy to leave the dusty room upstairs and rushes Shane out of there, even though the man seems very thrilled about the tapes he found.

 

He has to admit, the whole shooting started off at a very weird vibe. Ryan felt like he was just talking to himself, getting just mutters and mumblings back, but now he’s pretty sure that, whatever has been bothering Shane, is long gone. He steals a glance at the guy and gets one back immediately, with a wide, shit-eating grin.

 

_Ok-aaay, then._

 

Maybe the _talk_ he was preparing himself to have with the other man is not going to be necessary, then. They are friends, sure, but it’s not – neither Ryan nor Shane are the biggest fans of just wearing their hearts on their sleeves. So, for a few weeks now, Ryan was just lowkey observing Shane getting all quiet and careful, and sort of distanced.

 

Seems like it’s no longer a problem.

 

They travel downstairs again, to capture some of the basement and the area around it. Which, no surprise there, is rumored to be haunted by demons as well. Ryan prefers the ghost rooms, honestly. At least those ghosts used to be people, and he believes they still think they are. Demons, on the other hand, _know_ who they are and they _know_ what they are doing.

 

“Look at the holes,” he says, after they enter the, just as fucking dusty as the previous one, room. “There’s bulletholes in this door.”

 

Shane almost skips towards it, eyes glinting in the darkness.

 

“Huh? -- Whoooa! That’s the real deal, _baby._ ”

 

\-- _Baby? --_ Ryan can’t help but grin at his friend’s excitement. Sure, he doesn’t believe in the possibility of any dark entities being in the building, but it’s still great having him genuinely interested in the history. That’s what Ryan aims for, as well. There’s no point in covering reportedly haunted places that don’t have much to them except from a few rumors about shadows running around.

 

It’s when they sit down in the cell that – well, shit starts going weird. Shane turns the flashlight on and leaves it above their heads – and then it just fucking turns _off_ by itself.

 

They’re surrounded by darkness and silence, and Ryan is completely speechless. He can feel his heart thumping in his throat and, even though everything is succumbed by darkness, there is _definitely_ a pair of eyes on him, he _knows_ it.

 

“Now what?” Shane says, and it sounds way too serious for Ryan’s liking. “-- _Now what, Ryan?_ ”

 

“Shut up, Shane,” he mutters back, because that’s what he always says. It’s always followed by a laugh or a joke from the other man, too, but --

 

Before he’s even done letting the words leave his mouth, Shane is back talking.

 

“Demon, turn it on if you’re planning to do us harm... tonight. -- Turn it on if you wanna _hurt us._ ”

 

The light turns back on. Ryan’s heart painfully skips a beat. He’d be screaming, but his voice got _stuck_ in his throat. Shane is looking at the flashlight with a wide, happy smile.

 

“F-fucking shit! _God!_ Why do you keep asking questions like this, what is _wrong_ with you, do you wanna fucking _die?”_ Ryan is laughing, sure, but it’s not an amused laugh, not in the slightest.

 

_Fuck,_ he feels like he’s about to pass out.

 

Shane glances at him and the smile on his face gets even wider. Ryan is very close to changing his mind about being happy with Shane getting back to his previous, relaxed self. This – this was just _too damn relaxed,_ for his liking.

 

Shane doesn’t stop here. Not taking his eyes away from Ryan’s, he tilts his head slightly.

 

“Turn it off if you think... that you want to follow Ryan Bergara home.”

 

Ryan can swear he feels something _latching_ itself into his being. He wants to grab the flashlight and end all of this, but his palms are so sweaty, it would probably slip away from his grip, land on the floor and break, and then they’d be stuck there without any light.

 

Instead, he turns to Shane again, just a silent pleading in his panicked laugh.

 

“Why would you ask it that?!”

 

Shane doesn’t look at him anymore. He seems lost in it. And then, for some reason, Ryan feels the fear escaping him. It’s slowly replaced, and Ryan’s heart skips a beat, but this time it’s way different than before. He feels – drawn.

 

“-- _Demons! Turn the light off! Demons! You’re not trying hard enough! Plunge us into darkness, demons! Demons! Demons, you cowards! Turn the light off!”_

 

_*_

 

“The first time that light turned on, I was pretty scared,” he says when they’re back in the car and on the road. The uneasy feeling sticks with him still, but it’s not the first time it does, so he ignores it and tries to breathe. “Maybe there was something in there, I don’t know. I just wanted to get out. So, I’m happy that we’re gone.”

 

Shane is looking at him with a sly smile throughout this whole stumbled out sentence, and his gaze is heavy. The _other_ feeling Ryan got in that tiny, dark cell is currently squished into the very back of his head, but that gaze scratches on it, just a little bit.

 

“You escaped the clutches of yet another demon,” he says, eyes on Ryan, unmoving.

 

Remembering they are still on camera, Ryan snaps out of it and calls Shane out for provoking the demons, which Shane, obviously, deadpans with them not being real. As usual. Back to the good old days.

 

“ -- Or,” Ryan shrugs, eyes on the road, hoping that making a joke out of it will help him get rid of the lingering thought of something grabbing onto him _tight_ and _hard,_ “one of them is gonna follow me home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oookay, so... i wasn't gonna have the demon just come out of nowhere. and i also didn't want to make up a whole haunted place, because my hc for this fic is that a good, good bit of the unsolved series is actually demon!shane with ryan, not the real one, so it would have to be somewhere they already went.  
> and, oh boy, was the bobby mackey's the right episode for it.  
> i mean, halfway through shane just goes from 0 to 100, and they make A LOT of jokes about the demon following ryan home. it's just -- try watching it after reading this chapter with that thought in your head. just try.  
> anyways, i hope you guys like it! i'm getting a lot of nice feedback and it's making me blush, thank u. if u wanna hit me up, my tumblr is shanema-damn. also, thanks to everyone who kept sending me demon!shane songs. u guys are the best. <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the demons should be good at torturing the damned souls, not flirting, for crying out loud.

_The portal to hell._ It always makes him laugh, really.

If there was an actual fucking portal opened in that sorry house, there wouldn’t be a house there in the first place, just, like, a gaping hole in the ground. It was a while since Raum last visited hell but, as far as he knows, the last active portal opened hundreds of years ago, in the middle of nowhere.

The thing he uses to get out? Merely a rip, a tiny one, letting him only take just a bit of his powers with. Some dumb people are dumb enough to try and open the door – but turns out they are smart enough to do it _kind of_ right. As much as they can, good enough for him to slip out. He just fucking happens to walk by the place they manage to reach and, after seeing what happened, doesn’t think twice. Centuries spent in hell made him _crave_ something new and exciting.

The dumb humans are clearly delighted. Shame they can’t celebrate for long. The mere sight of his real face drains the life out of them, instantly.

Well, all but one. Raum makes a vessel out of one of the men, who somehow lives after seeing the demon, and tries to carry on, to explore a little more. It is all new to him, all kind of confusing, he has troubles with containing his powers and so the poor human bastard dies a few weeks later.

Since then, Raum tries to possess people many times and realises what the trick was – surprising the fuckers. The problem is, everyone entering the building has their guards up, has their pathetic human souls shrunk with fear. Possessing people like them is possible but also pointless, as they die within hours, if not minutes, not able to handle his energy. So he just stays there, for all these years, watching people and enjoying this little vacation. Which it is for him, _very_ little, in comparison to how long he already exists.

He sort of starts thinking about returning to hell through that little rip that nobody bothered to close – how could they, they _died,_ after all – but then, he feels two energies approaching, both so strong and yet so different. And it makes him curious.

_So_ curious, he peeks at the humans a little too hard and one of them seems to notice a bit of his shadow. Raum doesn’t pay attention to him, though, at least not yet. He is dead focused on the other one, the taller one. The one that has his spiritual guards completely, absolutely, one-hundred-percent down. If only Raum could get the man to step somewhere small and dark, so the manifestation of the demon’s powers doesn’t blind the other guy...

Then he could just – he could just walk away unnoticed, in that body, and try, try _so many things_. _Fuck._ It is _exciting_ as hell -- _no,_ obviously way _more_ exciting than hell.

Turns out, it is Raum’s lucky day.

Slipping into that giant of a man is way different than possessing all those other people. It feels like walking into hard armor, while others felt like he was trying to cover his body by rolling in ash. Looking back with his new eyes, Raum figures that, even though he is _aching_ to just take off and go wild, he has to keep the facade on, has to _be_ that man. Luckily, all the memories are there, in his head.

And that other guy, he is also there. Staring at him with a bright smile. So Raum smiles back, with the stranger’s – _Shane’s –_ lips and that’s when he realises that there’s some deeply buried _feeling_ in the pit of his host’s stomach.

_Huh._ He can play with that, too.

*

Months later, Raum is still having the time of his life. It is just perfect. Eating is great, the need to sleep – kind of annoying, but sleeping itself, the best. Sex is amazing too, although, he isn’t quite into the girl his host is seeing but, well, you can’t have it all. ( _Or_ can you?) And he also gets to claim fucking Goatman’s bridge! He always hated this asshat, it feels so satisfying.

There is also Ryan, and with Ryan he spends a lot of time. Technically, _they_ own the bridge together, which makes the smaller man sort of associated with hellish beings now but there is _no way_ Raum is going to tell him that, even as Shane.

The thing is, Shane being his host and all, Raum shares things with him now. The need to sleep, eat and all that is purely human. So is the ability to get drunk. He can also feel pain, which doesn’t bother him in the slightest. What kind of bothers him, though, is that lingering, _confusing_ feeling he has. The explanation for it isn’t anywhere in Shane’s memories, just as if Shane hasn’t named or acknowledged it himself, so Raum is lost.

But it makes the demon want to do _things_ and it makes him think of _things_ in the weirdest moments possible. Like, he could be holding the girl and, _bam,_ suddenly he remembers Ryan’s laugh. Or he could be trying to fall asleep, his human body _clearly_ very needing sleep, and not be able to drift off anyway, stomach twisting weirdly.

So Raum decides to do something about it.

*

_Back to now:_

\- Ah, sorry – Ryan mutters out, not really sounding like he means it.

Well, it has probably something to do with the fact that it is _Shane_ who bumps into him. For, like, the tenth time in the last hour. And that, again, after doing so, he just keeps on standing there, looking down on him with a weird smile on his face. They are in the cafeteria, completely alone, and Ryan just wants to make himself a goddamn coffee.

The only reason for why he isn’t calling Shane out already, which would have happened a long time ago in normal circumstances, is that Shane went through a break-up recently. It is a thing Ryan does now, to keep himself from overthinking: just blames everything on the break-up.

Shane texts him peach emojis at three in the morning? Probably lonely, can’t sleep without Sara next to him, just wants to entertain himself. Bumps into him constantly? Distracted, most likely thinking about Sara. Visits him unexpected, at the weirdest hours, without giving any heads-up? Needs attention now, that he’s feeling lonely after – _yeah,_ we get it.

But when it happens _again,_ not even a fucking _minute_ after the last time, Ryan snaps.

\- _Jesus,_ Shane, would you just stop being so all over the place? - he looks up at the other man and sees nothing but a wide smile.

\- Sorry – Shane says and he, too, doesn’t sound like he means it.

\- Are you alright? _Man,_ I’m sorry, but you are acting _very_ weird. I thought you said you are not really bothered by that thing with – with Sara?

\- Because I’m not – Shane answers simply, frowning a little – It’s not like she died. We are still cool, we talk.

Ryan shakes his head a little and gets back to trying to pick up his coffee mug, the liquid spilled a little on the counter from the constant bumping.

\- Whatever you say, man. It’s – I don’t know, forget it.

The thought that Shane is hiding something from him, or not being completely honest, is... more upsetting than he thought it would be. So upsetting that the thoughts, which made their home in the back of his head a long time ago, are silenced by the worry.

Shane approaches his desk during their lunch break and he looks hesitant, which gets Ryan’s attention instantly.

\- Actually, I kind of want to talk... about something – he says, eyes big and innocent, and with just a hint of something that makes Ryan swallow before he answers.

\- Cool, let’s talk.

\- Not here.

\- Um, alright. - Ryan scratches his head. - Uh, drinks after work then?

Shane smiles at him, all teeth, and it should be a happy smile but Ryan can’t help but think of a wolf, hidden in the shadows, motionless and baring long fangs. The thought is so random and sudden that he kicks it out of his head, again, with no overthinking, and they agree on the drinks.

*

The bar is pretty empty when they arrive. It’s a Monday night, after all, the least busy night in the area, but Ryan doesn’t mind. They’re here to _talk,_ not to party.

Before he can even look around for a table, Shane is already leading him to one, comfy but small, somewhere in the corner of the room.

\- Right – he says, not really looking at Ryan, as if lost in thoughts – You sit here, I’m gonna go and get us drinks.

And so he does, leaving Ryan alone for a couple of minutes, curious and worried, not even able to try and guess what Shane wants to talk about. The obvious option is, well, _the break-up,_ but --

Shane is back and he can’t theorize anymore. Which is good, it’s healthier, because he almost starts using his theory voice in his head at some point.

\- So, what’s up? - Ryan tries but Shane is already shaking his head.

\- Nah, drink first. Let’s just chill out for a moment. Enjoy ourselves, yeah?

Ryan blinks. _O-kay, then._

So they do chill out, drink a few, talk about the usual bullshit, and Ryan relaxes so much he actually forgets about why they came here for a moment. So, when Shane brings it up again, with their sixth drink, he is completely caught off guard.

\- I wanted to ask you a question, Ry.

_Ry._ That was _not_ a thing with them. Ryan clears his throat.

\- That why you brought me here? - he laughs – You couldn’t just ask me at work?

Shane isn’t laughing back, he is just smiling a little, and his eyes are sharp and unmoving, right on Ryan’s face, when he scoots just a little closer across the table.

\- No – he says quietly, but Ryan can hear him perfectly, even though the music is playing – No, I really couldn’t.

Ryan is hyper aware of how tipsy he is, now. His cheeks feel very hot all of the sudden, and he takes a quick sip of his drink to hide it.

\- Alright, what is it then? Need me to help you hide a body, or something? - he tries his best at a joke but it doesn’t change the fact that the atmosphere shifted in mere seconds and the poor attemptt at being funny sounds very out of place.

It’s really hard to think straight and come to conclusions that make sense when Shane takes him absolutely by surprise with how close he suddenly is, how fucking _serious_ he looks.

\- I’ve been thinking about us – he says, just like that, simply, as if it isn’t the _weirdest_ thing he has ever said to Ryan.

Ryan wants to laugh. He wants to just fucking _burst out laughing_ and pound his fist on the table, to tell Shane this is _ridiculous_ and – and grab Shane’s shoulders and _shake_ them, snap the man out of it.

Instead, he just gapes. With his lips parted, cheeks flaming hot and heart stupidly pounding in his chest.

\- Wha – It comes out so high-pitched, he tries again. - What do you mean, _us?_

He wishes he didn’t ask when Shane gets even closer and his eyes, the eyes of his _friend,_ just fucking travel down Ryan’s face like it’s a delicious piece of candy, and they stop at Ryan’s lips. It’s not subtle. Not _at all._

Ryan is convinced he is dreaming the most realistic, weirdly fucked up dream of his life.

\- I mean, we do so much together already, right? - Shane’s hand finds its way to Ryan’s knee, under the table, like a sneaky, long-legged spider, and then it _squeezes. -_ Why not expand the list of those things... a little?

Those words just came out of Shane’s mouth. His _actual_ mouth.

Ryan is _staring_ at Shane’s mouth.

_\- Igottago –_ he mumbles out, barely audible, and stumbles out of his chair.

Grabbing his jacket on the way to the door, he notices that getting up and away from Shane felt like getting out from some weird sort of a bubble. But it is, _clearly,_ not the most pressing matter in his head.

He gets the first taxi he sees and manages to stop, and goes straight home.

*

This is the first time the demon hears him _._

His voice sounds strained, almost in pain, but very serious, almost threatening, at the same time.And he says only one thing.

“ _Don’t you dare.”_

Raum smiles.

\- Aw, hi, Shane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao i'm back after like a thousand years. i was dealing with some shit, literally moving from one country to another, looking for a job, all that jazz. but now i'm back and hope y'all still on board with this, because the story is about to continue. <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> demons are sneaky. humans can be too.

For Ryan, this isn’t even gay panic. It’s existential panic, because he has no damn clue what the fuck is going on. With Shane -- _and_ himself.

Is there some _thoughts_ that were going through his head for the past months? Yeah, sure, maybe. He _kind of_ knows it, a part of him does, but being low-key aware about liking somebody’s attention is definitely _not_ something that can prepare for an encounter like the one he had last night with Shane.

_“I’ve been thinking about us. -- We do so much together already, right? Why not expand the list of those things a little?”_

What kind of logic even _is_ that? There should be at least twenty different levels in between innocent stuff like Ryan’s fond thoughts he was only slowly acknowledging and Shane’s question. It felt like a punch in the face, and Ryan doesn’t even know where to begin. Is he supposed to _call_ Shane and ask about it? Is he supposed to _wait_ until he sees him at work? Is there a chance that this was merely a joke?

In the end he does neither, because it’s _Shane_ that texts him first. They haven’t talked since Ryan stormed out of the bar last night, he didn’t try to reach him, which for Ryan is even more unnerving. It’s not like Shane to just – _not worry_ like that.

To be fair, it’s also not like Shane to grab on Ryan’s thighs and make offers of sexual nature, so.

He reaches for his phone with a hand that’s shaking a little.

_Shane [11:04] – sorry for last night, mate. had a little too much to drink._

Ryan can’t help but remember Shane’s expression when he was asking him that question. It was very serious, _intense_ and not exactly sober – but it wasn’t just _drunk talk_ either. He _knows_ it and, yet, believing it would make so many things easier.

_Ryan [11:06] I’m not letting you drink like fucking ever again._

_Shane [11:07] we good then?_

_Jesus._ Is that it, then?

It seems _too easy,_ especially after what has been said. Ryan hesitates for a while and then decides he will let it go.

_Ryan [11:08] We good, yeah_

Or, at least pretend to. Because, _hell,_ something is definitely not right.

_*_

Raum finds the newly awaken voice inside of him both fascinating... and slightly annoying. Yeah, _right_ , it’s cool to be able to chat with the human – but it would be much _cooler_ if the human wasn’t so set on insulting him in every way possible.

\- Come _on,_ we’ve been through this – he sighs, laying down on the couch in Shane’s apartment, playing _Candy Crush -_ It’s not a permanent thing, man. I was just... I wanted to _experience_ some of the human life, take a while off. This thing you have here, air conditioning? We don’t get that in hell, you know? And there’s, like, a lot of _fire_ down there.

Shane is having none of it.

“ _Go screw yourself and give me my body back, you demon fuck.”_

Raum sighs.

_-_ Now, Shane, I’m an eternal being but even I can only do one thing at a time – He immediately senses just how much angrier the man got at that reply. – What got you so worked up, anyway? I can actually _sense_ you now. Were you – are you _aware_ since day one?

Shane doesn’t respond and, for a moment, Raum thinks that he’s gone – but then there comes the answer.

“ _Sort of. -- At first I thought it was some kind of a very fucked up dream. That, dunno, maybe I hit my head off something in that stupid room and I’m in a coma, and that’s what my sadistic brain decided to show me. Took me a while to realise that’s not the case. Hell, I still – still have moments of doubt.”_

Raum shakes his head at that, beating another level in the game.

\- Yeah, you are the biggest skeptic I have laid my eyes on. I have to remind myself sometimes, honestly. It’s not exactly easy, being _you._

Shane is still giving off a very pissed off vibe. It makes it harder for Raum to play the game, but he’s trying anyway.

“-- _And, to answer your question, you ruining my friendship is what got me so worked up.”_

\- I was merely trying to make it better, though – the demon smiled.

Shane’s aura went hot red.

“ _By getting him drunk and scaring the fuck out of him?”_

\- You think he was _scared?_ Oh, honey. - Raum chuckles and then, right after, frowns in confusion. - Also, how come me ruining your _relationship_ wasn’t enough to get you to talk to me, then? I _did_ break up with the girl.

Silence. The demon is looking for any signs of emotions from within Shane’s body. There’s _something,_ but it’s really hard for him to give it a name. Finally, Shane speaks.

“ _Her name is Sara – and, at the time, I still wasn’t quite sure whether it was all for real. I was confused.”_

\- Now you’re just pissed. Come on, man, you have something to be proud of. Most of human bodies are not able to handle a demonic possession. And, not to show off, I _am_ quite a powerful one.

“ _Use your fucking powers then and fix what you did.”_

Raum blinks at this, confused.

\- What do you mean? - he stops playing, not really able to concentrate anymore.

“ _If you’re not going to give me my body back, at least fix this shit you pulled with Ryan._ _Erase his memories or something.”_

This makes the demon genuinely lose his shit. The laugh that escapes him doesn’t sound human at all;he can’t remember the last time he laughed so much. When he’s done, Shane is so pissed, the human’s body is almost vibrating with anger.

“ _What the fuck is so funny to you?”_

Raum wipes a tear that started slowly running down from the corner of his eye.

\- I’m sorry but... this is _so_ not how this all works. I can’t erase people’s memories. It ain’t _Harry Potter._

It takes Shane less than a second to reply this time.

“ _Then you’re one weak bitch.”_

Raum stops smiling.

\- Watch it, human.

“ _I’m just saying – I work with Ryan, okay? If you mess up this relationship, we are fucked. You and me, both. People will start suspecting things.”_

_-_ People can’t do shit to me.

“ _Do you really want to find out?”_

Raum can tell that Shane is trying to play him in some way. That’s one thing demons and people have in common – they’re sneaky when they want something. But, at the same time, Shane _is_ right.

\- Alright, then, what do you suggest I do, smartass? - He knows it’s obvious just how much he hates asking that.

“ _Call him. Or – no, he will freak out. Text him. Tell him you were only joking.”_

_-_ But I wasn’t.

“ _That’s – this is so not the point. He has to think you didn’t mean it.”_

_-_ But I did.

“ _Are all demons this fucking dense? Do you want to make life easier for yourself or not?”_

Raum sighs and exits the game to type a text message.

\- Alright, but I won’t tell him it was a joke. I’ll say I – I was drunk.

“ _Good enough, I guess.”_

Neither of them talks while they wait for the reply. It’s funny, for one body to have two breaths being held at the same time. When it comes, Raum isn’t sure if it’s Shane’s energy or _his,_ twisting nervously in his stomach.

\- See? He is all chill about it.

“ _You don’t know him like I do. He’s still freaking the fuck out.”_

_-_ I beg to differ. You might have known him longer but me and him shared some adventures. Talked. _Bonded. ..._ See? He replied again. He said we’re _good._ Can you chill out now?

“ _For a guy that is literally talking to a demon that’s possessing him, I’d say I’m pretty chill already.”_

_*_

Raum is pleasantly surprised at how chill Ryan acts at work the next time they see each other. Joke’s on Shane; he’s probably going to get what he wants while keeping his facade anyway. Reading Ryan is easy peasy lemon squeezy.

He makes them coffee too, brings it straight to Raum’s – well, Shane’s – desk, with the most adorable smile the demon has ever seen on a human being. Something twists in his stomach violently, and he burns his tongue a bit on the hot drink, while averting his eyes.

They don’t mention the _drunk thing_ and Raum isn’t going to press it, not just yet. He isn’t giving up on the plan, no sir – just taking a little bit of Shane’s advice. Ryan can’t suspect something is going on.

\-- He takes a little nap too, which surprises him, as it rarely happens. Maybe the human body got a bit tired from all the talking himself and Shane did. It’s not like he has a degree in possession, it’s all kind of just... happening.

When he’s leaving for home, Ryan is nowhere to be found. Raum decides not to be creepy and just shoots him a goodbye text. He is feeling very happy with himself, giddy even, and he can’t stop thinking about that adorable little smile Ryan gave him. It’s not a very demon-esque thing to think about, but he slowly loses all care for it.

Shane remains silent for the whole day.

That’s what makes Raum stop at the front door of the building.

*

Going to church when the sun comes up, just before work, seems like a silly idea. He feels like an idiot, asking the priest to bless a watter bottle that he purchased in a corner store for seventy-five cents just minutes ago, from a cashier that most likely thought he was super hangover. He does it, anyway, and then he boils it at work and makes Shane’s coffee with it.

He feels stupid to the point of leaving as soon as Shane starts drinking that damn coffee.

But now, Ryan is staring at his desk, motionless. All the blood leaves his face and his hands are shaking so hard it seems just as if his fingertips are vibrating. There’s a note on the table, on a piece of paper that’s _ripped_ from some notebook. Ryan can tell it’s Shane’s, because there’s just hints of letters from some other notes on the edges, and he knows his friend’s handwriting. That also says:

“ _not me since bobby mackeys. can’t get rid of him”_

There’s tiny horns above the word “him”. Ryan grabs the piece of paper and just keeps staring at it, throat going dry. And then, before it all fully becomes real in his head, there’s a voice behind him.

\- Watchu reading there, Ryan?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is a little bit shorter than the others but I really wanted to finally publish it, because I was messing with it for quite a while. hope y'all like it!!  
> my tumblr: shanema-damn. u can talk to me there <333

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for all the people that sent me demon!shane songs on tumblr!! they did help out a lot. my tumblr is shanema-damn if anyone looking for some dumb bfu posts and memes.  
> anyway, i hope you guys like it!!


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